“Mazzafame, place of heroic deeds in Legnano but also symbol of the values ​​underlying freedom and democracy”

The celebration of the armed clash between partisans and Nazi-fascist forces at Mazzafame in June 1944 always arouses strong emotions and passionate impulses attributable to that spirit of freedom and democracy at the basis of the Liberation.

So it was today, Sunday 2 June, at the historic farmhouse in Legnano where, called by the ANPI, municipal authorities, students of the Levi Montalcini school, citizens and associations close to the environment that most recalls the pacifist soul converged. Definitely greater in number and interest than what happened a few hours earlier in Largo. Gold medals for the official Republic Day event. An event, the latter, which would need a more adequate venue in terms of importance and involvement of the city.

Republic Day in Legnano in memory of those who defended democracy

The Blessing, edited by mgr. Angelo Cairati, of the plaque commemorating the battle and the speeches of mayor Lorenzo Radice and the vice president of Anpi, Giuliano Celin (a position shared since Saturday 1 June together with Pinuccia Boggiani) complemented the protagonists of the day, the students who, with their texts, recalled moments and characters from partisan Legnano.

So, addressing the kids, Mayor Radice he recalled: «The inhabitants of Cascina Mazzafame made a precise choice, because they no longer wanted to endure a situation of continuous abuse to which the fascists subjected them by stealing the fruit of their work in the fields and taking away all their freedom. And for this difficult and unconventional choice, we must be forever grateful to them. Grateful, because with their courage and their spirit of sacrifice they contributed to building the more just, free and democratic Italy in which we have lived for almost eighty years. We must therefore say thank you to them for what they have done, but we must also make sure that those who come after us remember what they have done. For this reason, guys, I thank you for your presence, because it will be up to you to remember what we are talking about today by picking up the baton that the municipal administration and Anpi are passing on to you. It will be you who will ensure that the memory of these facts of our local history lives on and that episodes such as the partisan struggle of Mazzafame, Cascina Olmina or Franco Tosi continue to be remembered.” HERE IS THE FULL SPEECH

«It should not be forgotten that precisely in the Alto Milanese area anti-fascism has developed and consolidated more than in other areas, above all due to the presence of a strong industrial fabric and a strong working class – a thought from Giuliano Celin on his first public appearance as vice president of Anpi Legnano – . Therefore, the contribution of the working masses first to anti-fascism and then to the liberation struggle was one of the pillars on which the resistance was based, the liberation of Italy from Nazi-fascism and the conquest of democracy and the Republican Constitution. This place therefore in which today we remember the contribution given by the fighters for liberation from Nazi-fascism, it not only represents the place of heroic deeds and human sacrifices of many men and women from Legnano, but it is also the place where we want to reaffirm those values ​​that were at the basis of those deeds and sacrifices. And it is also for this reason that every year in these places of shared memory we meet the students to whom we deliver the Constitution”. HERE IS THE COMPLETE INTERVENTION

Below, the video with the texts read by Sister M. Imperia of the Canossian Institute “Barbara Melzi”